As Las Vegas bids for 2016 Republican National Convention, a subtext is, we're not Tampa

A bus loaded with delegates and other RNC attendees prepares to leave after the end of day one of the 2012 Republican National Convention. The New York Times Thursday quotes one GOP official saying that the many hotels of Las Vegas have their appeal, especially after the three-hour round trips that he and other delegates endured in what the newspaper describes as "comparatively hotel-starved Tampa."

“That is one thing Las Vegas can guarantee: There will be no hurricanes,” said Brian K. Krolicki, the Republican lieutenant governor of Nevada, invoking the memory of when Hurricane Isaac forced a schedule change during the Republican convention in 2012, held in Tampa, Fla.

And this:

One appeal of Las Vegas, with its 150,000 hotel rooms within one square mile, is its contrast with the comparatively hotel-starved Tampa, where delegates complained of how long it took to get from their rooms to the convention center.

“Our delegation experienced three-hour round trips to the convention site in Tampa, so potentially walking to every event is exciting,” said Matt Moore, the South Carolina Republican chairman.

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